Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast

The Steam Machine Takes on PS5 and Xbox

November 21, 2025

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  • Valve is re-entering the living room console space with the new Steam Machine, a powerful, non-upgradable cube designed to run all Steam games at 4K 60 FPS, alongside an advanced new Steam Controller. 
  • The Rabbit company, known for the R1 device, is facing serious allegations of failing to pay employees and contractors, even as they tease a new 3-in-1 Gen 2 device and Rabbit OS 2. 
  • Google announced Gemini 3, touted as its most intelligent and factually accurate AI system yet, focusing on improved multi-modality, reasoning, and the ability to create dynamic, interactive interfaces in search results. 
  • Google's Gemini 3 is touted as a major leap in multi-modality and reasoning, aiming to be more objective and better at math/science, though early interactive features like dynamic animations were not immediately functional for the hosts. 
  • Google Anti-Gravity, a free AI coding IDE, is positioned as a strong competitor to Cursor, showing significant improvement in generating functional UIs (like a Snake game with Marquez's face as the target) compared to previous Gemini versions. 
  • The discussion on unlimited local versus unlimited cloud storage highlighted the trade-off between convenience/accessibility (cloud) and control/privacy (local), leading to a reflection on modern 'techno-feudalism' where users are dependent on large cloud providers. 

Segments

New Merch Launch Details
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(00:02:33)
  • Key Takeaway: The new Waveform podcast merchandise prioritizes unique, non-obvious designs over simple logo placement for each channel.
  • Summary: The design team focused on creating aesthetically pleasing shirts that don’t immediately scream ‘YouTuber merch’ unless the viewer is already familiar with the brand. Specific designs mentioned include a Joy Division-esque pattern for the Waveform shirt and a camera/tire motif for the Autofocus shirt. The hosts praised the material and fit, calling it the best merch they have produced.
Steam Machine Hardware Reveal
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(00:05:19)
  • Key Takeaway: Valve announced a new Steam Machine cube utilizing an AMD Zen 4 CPU and RDNA 3 GPU, targeting 4K 60 FPS performance for the entire Steam library.
  • Summary: This new Steam Machine aims to bridge the gap between PC and console gaming by being optimized for TV play with a controller. It features ecosystem optimizations like a micro SD card slot for easy library transfer from the Steam Deck. The device is designed to offer console-like features such as instant pause and wake functionality.
New Steam Controller Features
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(00:20:47)
  • Key Takeaway: The new Steam Controller evolves the touchpad concept from the Steam Deck and incorporates superior tunnel magneto-resistance magnetic thumbsticks to prevent drift.
  • Summary: The controller features larger, more concave touchpads and uses advanced magnetic thumbsticks that offer lower power use and minimized dead zones compared to standard Hall Effect sensors. It includes ‘grip sense’ functionality, allowing users to reset the gyro by applying pressure to buttons on the back of the handles.
Steam Frame VR Headset Specs
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(00:26:27)
  • Key Takeaway: The Steam Frame VR headset is a gaming-focused device powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, prioritizing performance via dedicated Wi-Fi 6 streaming over tethered PC connection.
  • Summary: The headset supports both dedicated VR games and non-VR Steam games displayed in a large floating window, utilizing foveated rendering tracked by 18 IR cameras. It employs a dual-antenna system: one dedicated solely to game streaming (achieving 10-20ms latency) and another for general internet traffic, notably featuring only black and white pass-through.
Rabbit Company Financial Issues
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(00:39:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Rabbit is allegedly facing severe financial instability, with multiple reports indicating late or non-payments to employees and contractors since October, potentially jeopardizing future product launches.
  • Summary: Reports suggest some contractors were not paid at all during July, August, and September, with payment promises being conditional on securing new investment funding. The company, which has around 26 employees, responded by claiming payment issues stemmed from paused unit sales in India due to local regulations. Despite the controversy, the hosts noted the company’s packaging remains excellent.
Google Gemini 3 Announcement
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(00:53:23)
  • Key Takeaway: Google released Gemini 3, claiming it is their most intelligent and factually accurate AI, specifically excelling in multi-modality, reasoning, and objectivity.
  • Summary: Gemini 3 is designed to be much less sycophantic and more objective in its responses compared to previous versions. A major new feature is the creation of dynamic interfaces, allowing the AI to generate interactive animations alongside explanations for complex topics like the three-body problem.
Gemini 3 AI Capabilities
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(00:53:53)
  • Key Takeaway: Gemini 3 is Google’s most intelligent AI, focusing on factual accuracy, multi-modality, nuance understanding, and objectivity, moving away from sycophantic responses.
  • Summary: Gemini 3 is claimed to be Google’s strongest model for multi-modality and reasoning, emphasizing understanding user intent over literal words. A key goal was making the AI less sycophantic and more objective in its answers. The model is also reported to be significantly better at math and science.
Testing Gemini 3 Interactive Features
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(00:55:30)
  • Key Takeaway: The highly promoted dynamic interface feature of Gemini 3, such as creating interactive animations for complex problems like the three-body problem, failed to work for the host using standard prompts.
  • Summary: The host attempted to generate interactive visualizations for the three-body problem using the advertised prompts but received only descriptions of what a visualization might look like. The host noted that accessing graphical features might require selecting a specific dropdown mode within the Google AI interface, which was not consistently available across accounts.
Google Anti-Gravity Coding App
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(00:57:05)
  • Key Takeaway: Google Anti-Gravity is a free, agent-first AI coding IDE, positioned as a response to Cursor, offering modes that range from user-led coding to fully automated task completion.
  • Summary: Google Anti-Gravity is a dedicated, free application designed as an AI development tool built around agents, contrasting with IDEs that simply add AI features. It offers different interaction modes, including one where the AI creates a checklist for user approval at each step. The host found it a significant improvement over Gemini 2.5 when building a test application, even successfully implementing a Snake game with a custom asset.
AI Impact on Web Traffic and SEO
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(01:03:03)
  • Key Takeaway: The generative, interactive capabilities of Gemini 3 occurring entirely on Google.com raise concerns that this could effectively ‘cook’ traditional SEO by keeping users on Google and preventing traffic to source websites.
  • Summary: If Gemini 3 successfully provides interactive answers directly on Google.com, it bypasses the need for users to click through to external websites. This mirrors past EU scrutiny regarding Google scraping content without directing traffic. The hosts predict this trend may force content creators toward tighter, direct audience relationships rather than relying on banner ad revenue.
Cloudflare Outage Impact
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(01:10:53)
  • Key Takeaway: A recent Cloudflare outage demonstrated the fragility of modern internet infrastructure, causing widespread service disruptions, including the failure of the New Jersey Transit ticketing app.
  • Summary: The Cloudflare outage caused numerous services, including the IKEA website and the New Jersey Transit app, to become inaccessible, highlighting collective reliance on centralized server companies. The incident was so widespread that even Down Detector was reportedly down, confirming the severity of the infrastructure failure.
Local vs. Cloud Storage Dilemma
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(01:13:06)
  • Key Takeaway: The hypothetical choice between unlimited local storage (requiring manual syncing and management) and unlimited cloud storage (risking outages and reliance on third parties) forces a choice between convenience and control.
  • Summary: The scenario pits the convenience of instant cross-device access via the cloud against the security and autonomy of having everything stored locally, which necessitates manual synchronization (like using a self-managed Plex or Obsidian setup). The hosts concluded that while local storage offers freedom, the sheer effort required to manage all digital life locally makes the cloud the default, albeit riskier, choice.
Techno-Feudalism and Digital Serfdom
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(01:23:45)
  • Key Takeaway: The increasing reliance on centralized cloud services like Cloudflare and Amazon is leading to a state of ’techno-feudalism,’ where users are serfs dependent on these platforms.
  • Summary: The dependency on massive cloud infrastructure companies is likened to a modern form of feudalism. This reliance means users are subject to service outages and must trust these entities with their data security. The hosts noted that this structure contrasts sharply with the past, where users managed their own media via devices like iPods.
Trivia: Gabe Newell’s Yacht
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(01:24:46)
  • Key Takeaway: Gabe Newell, co-founder of Valve, reportedly owns a yacht named ‘Leviathan,’ which he allegedly financed through revenue from children gambling on in-game item skins.
  • Summary: The trivia question concerned the name of Gabe Newell’s large yacht, which was confirmed to be the ‘Leviathan.’ The context implies this wealth stems from Valve’s involvement with skin gambling markets, contrasting with the idea that one needs to be a ’techno-feudalist’ to earn billions.